Orange Professionals

Former Orangemen In the Pro Ranks

This page is under re-constrution for the 2008-09 season. Check back soon!

Are you jonesing for news about Gerry McNamara? Do you often find yourself wondering “Whatever happened to Preston Shumpert?” Have you ever tossed and turned in your bed, sleep eluding your tired eyes, because you couldn’t squelch your curiosity about the post-Syracuse exploits of Elvir Ovcina? Well then you’ve come to the right place. On this page, we at Cuse Country will keep current records for all former SU basketball players still making their livings on the hardwood, with whatever relevant links we can track down.

(For regular updates on the current performances of these players, keep checking the main CC page where Pro Updates are posted generally at least once a week. You can also get a listing of all posts tagged with a player’s name by clicking on his name.)

Click in this list to jump directly to a particular player’s information:

Ryan returns to the 89ers for a second season this year. Last year he was one of their top two players. The other top player has left the team so Ryan is expected to carry the load this season.

The BJ-League website is set up so that you cannot make an external link directly to a player’s stats page. If you want to see Ryan’s stats for the season, go to the league website, mouseover the fourth box on their navigation banner and select the first choice from the dropdown menu as shown here:
This will take you to the 89ers’ team page. Finally, click on Blackwell’s name — the name next to uniform #6. You should be taken to his stats page.

Jason is in his 7th NBA season. He is currently the backup to point guard Deron Williams in Utah. He earned a free-agent deal with the Jazz for the 07-08 season by nearly getting the Clippers into the playoffs after both of their point guards were injured midway through the 06-07 season.

Otis played in Croatia and Poland in 06-07, but decided to return to Israel for the current season (he’d played in Israel before his European stops). He has been a dominant big man wherever he’s played, and this latest stop is no exception.

The Knicks traded a future draft pick for Nichols, then released him towards the end of training camp. He was picked up by the Cavaliers a couple of days before the season began, played in a couple of games, then was released again and signed a couple of days later by the Bulls. As of this date, his career has featured more NBA teams (3) than points (2).

Elvir is entering his third season with Oostende. They have won the Belgian League Championship in each of the last two years; their quest for a three-peat is off to a good start as they are 6-1 through their first 7 games.

Official Player Page: none yet; stats not available until season starts

Josh played in Finland in the winter of 2006-07, then left his Finnish team to rejoin the Nelson Giants in New Zealand, for whom he had played the year before and whose season began in March. He was named the league MVP as he led the Giants to the league championship. Though he has now come back to the US, the CBA season will end early enough for him to go back to New Zealand again this year if he chooses.

After splitting the 2006-07 season between two Italian League teams (with his playing time fluctuating wildly from week to week), Preston signed up with a Turkish squad this year on which he should play more of a consistently large role.

Etan was diagnosed with a dangerous heart condition at the start of 2007 training camp. He underwent surgery in October 2007, and is now recovering. His goal is to play again, though it is still too early to tell when (or if) he will be able to do so. Here is an interview that Etan did for RealGM.com about the experience.
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Etan is also a published poet, and an occasional contributor to the Huffington Post political blog.

Hakim enters his third season with the Grizzlies looking to become a regular impact player. Last season was a roller-coaster for him. He was a starter during the first portion of the season (filling in for an injured Pau Gasol) and was one of the team’s leading scorers during this period. When Gasol came back his playing time (and production) plummeted, then slowly rose again in the latter stages of the year.

Mookie was invited to the Sacramento Kings’ preseason camp as an undrafted free agent out of college and took full advantage of the opportunity. He earned a spot on the Kings’ roster by the end of camp (a very uncommon feat for players in his situation) and was the primary backup to Brad Miller in the first weeks of the season while Sacramento’s #1 draft pick, center Spencer Hawes, recovered from knee surgery. When Hawes returned, Watkins’ playing time diminished greatly, and he was released in mid-December. He signed with the D-Fenders soon after.

Dayshawn has bounced around the pro ranks for the past couple of years since leaving college ball. He began the season with the ABA’s Syracuse Raging Bullz, but when that team folded after about a month, he signed with the more stable Albany Patroons.